Terms Used in This Book

custom JumpStart

A type of installation in which the Solaris software is automatically installed on a system based on a user-defined profile. You can create customized profiles for different types of users and systems. 

cylinder

In a disk drive, the set of tracks with the same nominal distance from the axis about which the disk rotates. See also track, sector.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

An application-layer protocol that enables individual computers, or clients, on a TCP/IP network to extract an IP address and other network configuration information from a designated and centrally maintained DHCP server or servers. DHCP reduces the overhead of maintaining and administering a large IP network. 

initial installation

The fresh installation of Solaris that overwrites all the information on a system's disk. See also upgrade.

IPv6

A new version (version 6) of Internet Protocol (IP) designed to be an evolutionary step from the current version, IPv4 (version 4). It is an increment to IPv4. Deploying IPv6, using defined transition mechanisms, does not disrupt current operations. In addition, IPv6 provides a platform for new Internet functionality. 

IPv6 is described in more detail in "Overview of IPv6" in System Administration Guide, Volume 3.

Kiosk

A browser-based environment in which information, such as documentation, web pages, and other content, is displayed as the user installs the Solaris software with Solaris Web Start. 

miniroot

The smallest possible bootable Solaris root (/) file system. A miniroot contains a kernel and just enough software to install the Solaris environment on a hard disk. The miniroot is the file system that is copied to a machine in the initial installation.

package

Power Management

Software that automatically saves the state of a system and turns it off after it is idle for 30 minutes. When you install the Solaris software on a system that complies with Version 2 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star guidelines--a sun4u SPARC system, for example--the Power Management software is installed by default, and you are prompted after subsequently rebooting to enable or disable the Power Management software. 

Energy Star guidelines require that systems or monitors automatically enter a "sleep state" (consume 30 watts or less) after the system or monitor becomes inactive. 

sector

A data storage area on a disk, or sections of each disk ring. A sector can usually hold 512 bytes. 

Solaris 8 Interactive Installation Program

A graphical user interface (GUI) or character user interface (CUI) based, menu-driven, interactive script that enables you to set up a system and install the Solaris 8 software on it. 

Solaris Web Start

A graphical, wizard based, Java powered software application that installs the Solaris operating environment and other software on a single system from a local or remote CD-ROM drive. You can also run Solaris Web Start through a command-line interface. Compare with custom JumpStart and Solaris 8 Interactive Installation Program. 

swap

A slice used by Solaris software to temporarily store programs and data that do not fit into a system's memory (the programs and data in swap are removed or overwritten every time the system is rebooted). If the swap space is too small, some programs might not run after installation. If the swap space is too large, other files required for installation might not fit on the disk.

The recommended swap size for the majority of users is 512 Mbytes.  

If necessary, you can subsequently increase (but not decrease) the swap space on a system on which you install the Solaris software.

track

A concentric ring on a disk that passes under a single stationary disk head as the disk rotates. 

upgrade

The merging of a new version of Solaris with an existing version on your disk; upgrading your system with a new version of Solaris saves as many local modifications as possible since the last time Solaris was installed. See also initial installation.

wizard

A self-contained, graphical user interface-based program that guides you through a specific task.